With decorations put away for another 12 months and the new year well and truly underway, developer Mojang has awakened from its festive slumber to release six new features for public testing ahead of Minecraft's planned first update in 2025.
Mojang, of course, announced that it was changing the way it released new Minecraft content last September, revealing that it would be abandoning its traditional large summer updates in favor of multiple smaller releases throughout the year. And now several of the features that will launch (and are now available to test) in the first Minecraft update in 2025 are detailed.
This starts with two new pig variants, intended to complement the standard swamp that has been available in the game for 15 years. More specifically, it is introducing the new cold pig and warm pig variants, which are found in sub-zero biomes and sandy biomes, respectively.
Elsewhere, forest biomes will be updated in the next Minecraft update, thanks to three new environmental features: falling leaves, leaf litter and wildflowers. Falling leaves are found in all forest biomes, but leaf litter, which rustles underfoot and can be used to decorate other blocks, is unique to dark forests and wooded wastelands.
Meanwhile, wildflowers are found in meadows and birch forests (in addition to their ancient counterparts), manifesting as yellow and white flowers that can be crafted for dyeing. These all have four stages of growth that players can speed up with bone meal and will bloom in different patterns depending on the angle they are placed at.
And finally, for now, lodestones (the magnetized blocks that players can place to helpfully attract their compasses while navigating) have a new, simpler crafting recipe.
All of the above features are scheduled to arrive as part of the next Minecraft update, but they will first be released for public testing so adventurous players can put them to the test. All six additions can be accessed through the latest Minecraft Java Snapshot right now, and everything except the new Minecraft Leaf Litter and Wildflowers is available in the Bedrock preview and beta. Those two missing features should be coming to Bedrock “soon,” and more information on how to access Minecraft trials can be found on Mojang's website.